ABSTRACT
The purpose of this paper is to examine the USMARC Holdings Format as it relates to the automated serial management services offered to libraries by The Faxon Company. The first section provides the background for Faxon’s work with the Holdings Format. The issues related to its implementation in the Faxon environment are discussed and the relationship of the Holdings Format with other serial standards is examined. The next section details the implementation and status of the format as part of Faxon’s online serials systems, SC-10 and Union List, and Faxon’s micro-based check-in software, MicroLinx. The last section explores a series of implementation issues that developed as part of Faxon’s work to interface holdings information with a variety of online catalogs, for both locally developed systems as well as other library vendor systems. It addresses the use of the format as a communications vehicle, the issues related to the generation of a holdings display, and presents some alternative methods for storing the data in the communications format. Also presented are additional data elements not currently in the Holdings Format. This data contains relevant serials inventory information that if added to the format may expand its uses for circulation, binding, and other interfaces. Finally, a set of issues, with some recommendations for future work on the USMARC Holdings Format, are presented.
